Articles by Jeff Merron

Jeff MerronMacworld

Jeff Merron is a writer and editor who wrote full-time for ESPN.com's Page 2 for five years and has contributed to Slate, Consumers Digest, Yahoo.com, Information Week, Byte Magazine, and many other national outlets.

This app, which lets you read, view, and listen to many common types of files, has style and potential. But at this point, it's missing the reliability most users would want in their default file viewer.

While this iPad shopping app from Amazon is is slick, well-produced, and easy enough to navigate, the online retailing giant's other app, Amazon Mobile, provides a better shopping experience for iOS users.

In the latest update to its iOS printing app, EuroSmartz removed a background printing feature at Apple's request. The ability to print from the background of other apps using AirPlay required a private API, which Apple's iOS development rules forbid.

Baseball fans will find a lot to like about the way this iPad app presents baseball statistics. But because the information lacks depth and other sources do a better job presenting the same numbers -- usually for free -- Pennant's pleasures are fleeting.

Both the iPhone and iPad versions of this mobile Web browser offer a workaround to Apple's lack of support for Flash on the iOS platform. The apps work as advertised -- some of the time -- but serious surfers may find Skyfire's limitations frustrating.

The iPad version of this mobile office suite has some limitations, but the app's robust and responsive functionality more than makes up for its basic approach to word processing, spreadsheets, and presentations.

New versions of PrintBureau and PrintCentral will allow iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad users to print from any AirPrint-enabled app to almost any wireless printer. The updates also add support for background printing to USB printers connected to Wi-Fi networks via EuroSmartz's free desktop companion app.